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"The seeing, the true seeing, that is the heart of it." -Syrio Forel Arya V, AGOT.

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If only it were this easy to see through a glamor.
In book one, George is kind enough to give a guide to how to read the story by way of Syrio Forel. Syrio tells us there will be deceptions ahead and we have to see through these deceptions.

"The cat was an ordinary cat, no more. The others expected a fabulous beast, so that is what they saw. How large it was, they said. It was no larger than any other cat, only fat from indolence, for the Sealord fed it from his own table. What curious small ears, they said. Its ears had been chewed away in kitten fights. And it was plainly a tomcat, yet the Sealord said 'her,' and that is what the others saw. Are you hearing?"
Arya thought about it. "You saw what was there."
"Just so." Id.

If you've read some of my musing here and wondered why I think Quentyn wasn't burned by a dragon; Robb didn't name Jon heir, or Mance did not go to Winterfell to save Arya, it is because I am trying to spot whether George has taken an ordinary cat and convinced readers it is a fabulous beast. I think George has invited most readers to conclude they saw a fabulous beast below Storm's End in Davos II. I think instead of witnessing the birth of a shadow baby, we saw a well-executed, carefully crafted and expertly timed glamor. I am going to attempt to lay out why the event below Storm's End was a glamor.
If you haven't already skipped to the comments to tell me this is unhinged tinfoil, thank you for that. It is always nice when people consider the argument before responding. I fully expect some passionate pushback on this one. As we were told in "They Live", people can be somewhat resistant to a new perspective. I do not mind if you disagree. Theories do not improve in echo chambers. I only ask that you consider the offerings and that your disagreement be polite and constructive.
So, a quick recap for those who have not poured over Davos II, ACOK in a while. Following the death of Renly in Catelyn IV, ACOK, (and we will get to that because that is really important) Stannis is camped outside of Storm's End demanding the castle and Edric Storm. Ser Courtnay Penrose refuses.

Ser Cortnay did not seem surprised. "Is it the justice of your cause you doubt, my lord, or the strength of your arm? Are you afraid I'll piss on your burning sword and put it out?"
"Do you take me for an utter fool, ser?" asked Stannis. "I have twenty thousand men. You are besieged by land and sea. Why would I choose single combat when my eventual victory is certain?" The king pointed a finger at him. "I give you fair warning. If you force me to take my castle by storm, you may expect no mercy. I will hang you for traitors, every one of you."
"As the gods will it. Bring on your storm, my lord—and recall, if you do, the name of this castle." Ser Cortnay gave a pull on his reins and rode back toward the gate.

Stannis then speaks with Davos about the matter with Melisandre present. Melisandre sees that Stannis trusts Davos.

Davos had come too far with Stannis to play coy now. "Last year they were Robert's men. A moon ago they were Renly's. This morning they are yours. Whose will they be on the morrow?"
And Stannis laughed. A sudden gust, rough and full of scorn. "I told you, Melisandre," he said to the red woman, "my Onion Knight tells me the truth."
"I see you know him well, Your Grace," the red woman said.

Stannis tells Davos of Melisandre's vision as well as the need to take the Castle.

Davos Seaworth felt the small hairs rising on the back of his neck. "My lord, I do not understand you."
"I do not require your understanding. Only your service. Ser Cortnay will be dead within the day. Melisandre has seen it in the flames of the future. His death and the manner of it. He will not die in knightly combat, needless to say." Stannis held out his cup, and Devan filled it again from the flagon. "Her flames do not lie. She saw Renly's doom as well. On Dragonstone she saw it, and told Selyse. Lord Velaryon and your friend Salladhor Saan would have had me sail against Joffrey, but Melisandre told me that if I went to Storm's End, I would win the best part of my brother's power, and she was right."

Davos offers some protest, but he does not refuse his king.

"I must have the boy, Davos. Must. Melisandre has seen that in the flames as well."
Davos groped for some other answer. "Storm's End holds no knight who can match Ser Guyard or Lord Caron, or any of a hundred others sworn to your service. This single combat . . . could it be that Ser Cortnay seeks for a way to yield with honor? Even if it means his own life?"
A troubled look crossed the king's face like a passing cloud. "More like he plans some treachery. There will be no combat of champions. Ser Cortnay was dead before he ever threw that glove. The flames do not lie, Davos."
Yet they require me to make them true, he thought. It had been a long time since Davos Seaworth felt so sad.

Keep in mind that Davos is required here. Put a pin in that for now we'll get back to that. Shortly thereafter, Davos sails then rows Melisandre beneath the walls of Storm's End. While they row there, they speak of other deaths Davos has connected to Melisandre.

"Yet you mean to kill a man tonight," he said. "As you killed Maester Cressen."
"Your maester poisoned himself. He meant to poison me, but I was protected by a greater power and he was not."
"And Renly Baratheon? Who was it who killed him?"
Her head turned. Beneath the shadow of the cowl, her eyes burned like pale red candle flames. "Not I."
"Liar." Davos was certain now.
Melisandre laughed again. "You are lost in darkness and confusion, Ser Davos."

So Davos has some interesting thoughts here. He thinks Melisandre came here to kill Penrose though she did not say this. He believes she killed Cressen and Renly though she denies it. Davos without any real evidence other than proximity, blames Melisandre for events. This is not an uncommon mistake. Story characters do this all the time and people reading the story do the same. This is human nature.
Mel claims she needs to be inside the walls of Storm's End.

Together they tied off the sail as the boat rocked beneath them. As Davos unshipped the oars and slid them into the choppy black water, he said, "Who rowed you to Renly?"
"There was no need," she said. "He was unprotected. But here . . . this Storm's End is an old place. There are spells woven into the stones. Dark walls that no shadow can pass—ancient, forgotten, yet still in place."

When they arrive beneath Storm's End...

"Have we passed within the walls?"
"Yes. Beneath. But we can go no farther. The portcullis goes all the way to the bottom. And the bars are too closely spaced for even a child to squeeze through."
There was no answer but a soft rustling. And then a light bloomed amidst the darkness.
Davos raised a hand to shield his eyes, and his breath caught in his throat. Melisandre had thrown back her cowl and shrugged out of the smothering robe. Beneath, she was naked, and huge with child. Swollen breasts hung heavy against her chest, and her belly bulged as if near to bursting. "Gods preserve us," he whispered, and heard her answering laugh, deep and throaty. Her eyes were hot coals, and the sweat that dappled her skin seemed to glow with a light of its own. Melisandre shone.
Panting, she squatted and spread her legs. Blood ran down her thighs, black as ink. Her cry might have been agony or ecstasy or both. And Davos saw the crown of the child's head push its way out of her. Two arms wriggled free, grasping, black fingers coiling around Melisandre's straining thighs, pushing, until the whole of the shadow slid out into the world and rose taller than Davos, tall as the tunnel, towering above the boat. He had only an instant to look at it before it was gone, twisting between the bars of the portcullis and racing across the surface of the water, but that instant was long enough.
He knew that shadow. As he knew the man who'd cast it.

And shortly after this event we learn Penrose died.

"Why no, I trust you implicitly." A bitter laugh echoed off the shuttered windows. "I trust you like one of my own blood, in truth. Now tell me how Cortnay Penrose died."
"It is said that he threw himself from a tower."

So there are several possible theories about how Penrose died. The first theory--and by far the most popular-- is that the shadow Davos saw threw Penrose over the walls. And yes, that is a theory because we do not see the shadow do anything and therefore we can't point to text to clearly state this shadow is real. A second theory--one I have not even seen Preston Jacobs offer--is the shadow Davos saw was nothing more than a glamor and Penrose was killed by some other act. I believe the second theory is the more likely of the two to be true. And I will offer why herein.

Why I think it was a glamor

So after seeing a shadow kill Renly in the Catelyn POV, and seeing Melisandre give birth to a shadow that entered Storm's End, and learning that Penrose was thrown over the walls I am going to argue that what Davos saw was a glamor?
Yes, I am.
Glamors are a major story plot point as are the varying levels of success characters have with spotting glamors. Characters and readers are given several clues on how to spot glamors and I think if we apply those lessons to what we see below Storm's End, we can make a strong argument that this was a glamor.
I am not here to convince you I got this right. The only purpose of this post is to share my thoughts and perhaps get a few of you to consider whether the fantastic beast the author offered you was actually something less spectacular. If after reading and considering, you are convinced the shadow beneath Storm's End was real, that is fine. You might even be right. It is just a theory I have that I offer for your consideration.

Melisandre and glamors

So any argument that the Storm's End event could be a glamor must start with a good understanding of what glamors are, how they operate and their limitations. After trying to define the elements of a glamor as presented to us in the text, I will see if that is consistent with what Davos sees below Storm's End.
As Syrio explained to Arya (and to us readers), a glamor gives the appearance of something present that is not really there. People with sharp eyes can see through glamors. This position is repeated to Arya (and the readers) by the Kindly Man.

"Mummers change their faces with artifice," the kindly man was saying, "and sorcerers use glamors, weaving light and shadow and desire to make illusions that trick the eye. These arts you shall learn, but what we do here goes deeper. Wise men can see through artifice, and glamors dissolve before sharp eyes" The Ugly Little Girl, ADWD.

Melisandre also acknowledges that glamors are a trick of the visual and they are not foolproof.

"The spell is made of shadow and suggestion. Men see what they expect to see. The bones are part of that." Was I wrong to spare this one? "If the glamor fails, they will kill you." Melisandre, ADWD.

Her line about men seeing what they expect to see is important. This does not just apply to story characters. I think it can be applied to readers as well. We will get back to this.
You'll recall before she showed the crowd at Dragonstone a glamored sword, she told them they would see a sword of fire.

Melisandre was robed all in scarlet satin and blood velvet, her eyes as red as the great ruby that glistened at her throat as if it too were afire. "In ancient books of Asshai it is written that there will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him." She lifted her voice, so it carried out over the gathered host. "Azor Ahai, beloved of R'hllor! The Warrior of Light, the Son of Fire! Come forth, your sword awaits you! Come forth and take it into your hand!" [...]
"A sword of fire!" shouted Queen Selyse. Ser Axell Florent and the other queen's men took up the cry. "A sword of fire! It burns! It burns! A sword of fire!"
Melisandre lifted her hands above her head. "Behold! A sign was promised, and now a sign is seen! Behold Lightbringer! Azor Ahai has come again! All hail the Warrior of Light! All hail the Son of Fire!" Davos I, ACOK.

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So we know when dealing with Melisandre, we should always question whether a glamor is in play because it is one of the tools in her bag and she is very good at using them to get what she wants. With that in mind, let's discuss the limitations of glamors.
We know glamors can dissolve before sharp eyes as Arya who was trained by Syrio to see through glamors demonstrates.

"Let us see." The priest lowered his cowl. Beneath he had no face; only a yellowed skull with a few scraps of skin still clinging to the cheeks, and a white worm wriggling from one empty eye socket. "Kiss me, child," he croaked, in a voice as dry and husky as a death rattle.
Does he think to scare me? Arya kissed him where his nose should be and plucked the grave worm from his eye to eat it, but it melted like a shadow in her hand.
The yellow skull was melting too, and the kindliest old man that she had ever seen was smiling down at her. "No one has ever tried to eat my worm before," he said. "Are you hungry, child?" Arya I, AFFC.

Also important to note is that because glamors only impact the visual sense, when other senses come to bear, you start to question what you see.

Davos knelt, and Stannis drew his longsword. Lightbringer, Melisandre had named it; the red sword of heroes, drawn from the fires where the seven gods were consumed. The room seemed to grow brighter as the blade slid from its scabbard. The steel had a glow to it; now orange, now yellow, now red. The air shimmered around it, and no jewel had ever sparkled so brilliantly. But when Stannis touched it to Davos's shoulder, it felt no different than any other longsword. "Ser Davos of House Seaworth," the king said, "are you my true and honest liege man, now and forever?" Davos IV, ASOS.

Those who do not rely on the visual aren't so easily fooled.

The king frowned. "Everyone else has seen the thing, why not a blind man?" His swordbelt and scabbard hung from a peg near the hearth. He took the belt down and drew the longsword out. Steel scraped against wood and leather, and radiance filled the solar; shimmering, shifting, a dance of gold and orange and red light, all the bright colors of fire.
"Tell me, Samwell." Maester Aemon touched his arm.
"It glows," said Sam, in a hushed voice. "As if it were on fire. There are no flames, but the steel is yellow and red and orange, all flashing and glimmering, like sunshine on water, but prettier. I wish you could see it, Maester." [...]
Maester Aemon was lost in thought as Sam helped him down the narrow turnpike stair. But as they were crossing the yard, he said, "I felt no heat. Did you, Sam?"
"Heat? From the sword?" He thought back. "The air around it was shimmering, the way it does above a hot brazier."
"Yet you felt no heat, did you? And the scabbard that held this sword, it is wood and leather, yes? I heard the sound when His Grace drew out the blade. Was the leather scorched, Sam? Did the wood seem burnt or blackened?"
"No," Sam admitted. "Not that I could see." Samwell V, ASOS.

Maester Aemon is telling us that a glamor can have no impact on the physical. There will be nothing to feel, it will leave no marks on the environment. It is strictly a thing of the visual. Which is why Mel insists Mance wear those bones.

Melisandre felt the warmth in the hollow of her throat as her ruby stirred at the closeness of its slave. "You have put aside your suit of bones," she observed.
"The clacking was like to drive me mad."
"The bones protect you," she reminded him. "The black brothers do not love you. Devan tells me that only yesterday you had words with some of them over supper." Melisandre, ADWD.

And...

Every day I think how easy it would be to pry it out, and every day I don't. Must I wear the bloody bones as well?"
"The spell is made of shadow and suggestion. Men see what they expect to see. The bones are part of that." Was I wrong to spare this one? "If the glamor fails, they will kill you." Id.

The bones are important to the Rattleshirt glamor because everyone expects to hear the clacking of the bone armor. When things are different from what is expected, keen minds notice.

One time Arya woke in the dark, frightened for no reason she could name. Above, the Red Sword shared the sky with half a thousand stars. The night seemed oddly quiet to her, though she could hear Yoren's muttered snores, the crackle of the fire, even the muffled stirrings of the donkeys. Yet somehow it felt as though the world were holding its breath, and the silence made her shiver. She went back to sleep clutching Needle.
Come morning, when Praed did not awaken, Arya realized that it had been his coughing she had missed. Arya II, ACOK.

Mel wants Mance to wear the bones to keep people from looking closer. Jon almost noticed something was off with the fRattleshirt when they fought in the yard. But Jon has not been trained to see through glamors as George has tried to train we readers.
The point of all these citations is to make it clear that you can spot a glamor by looking for evidence beyond the visual. If the only proof a thing is present is that you see a thing, you might want to look closer especially if it involves a known glamor caster. George has consistently showed us via Aemon's questioning of Lightbringer and Arya's grabbing the worm, that physical impact matters. And this is also the approach he took with the Renly event.

The Renly Shadow

In my informal discussions on the subject, the response I get most often to the suggestion that the Storm's End shadow is glamor is "what killed Renly then?" This is an excellent question and one we must look at because I think the details of the Renly event really help us understand why the Storm's End event might just be a light show. Here is the relevant text from the Renly event.

"I beg you in the name of the Mother," Catelyn began when a sudden gust of wind flung open the door of the tent. She thought she glimpsed movement, but when she turned her head, it was only the king's shadow shifting against the silken walls. She heard Renly begin a jest, his shadow moving, lifting its sword, black on green, candles guttering, shivering, something was queer, wrong, and then she saw Renly's sword still in its scabbard, sheathed still, but the shadowsword . . .
"Cold," said Renly in a small puzzled voice, a heartbeat before the steel of his gorget parted like cheesecloth beneath the shadow of a blade that was not there. He had time to make a small thick gasp before the blood came gushing out of his throat. Catelyn IV, ACOK.

This was no glamor. We know this because in addition to Cat and Brienne seeing it, the shadow had a clear impact on the physical world. George writes that the shadow entered the tent with a parting of the tent door, then when it was near Renly he felt cold and finally we saw the shadow rip through a steel gorget and open Renly's throat.
We are also told Stannis has a telepathic link to the shadow that killed Renly.

For a long time the king did not speak. Then, very softly, he said, "I dream of it sometimes. Of Renly's dying. A green tent, candles, a woman screaming. And blood." Stannis looked down at his hands. "I was still abed when he died. Your Devan will tell you. He tried to wake me. Dawn was nigh and my lords were waiting, fretting. I should have been ahorse, armored. I knew Renly would attack at break of day. Devan says I thrashed and cried out, but what does it matter? It was a dream. I was in my tent when Renly died, and when I woke my hands were clean." Davos II, ACOK.

So I will say unequivocally that a real shadow assassin with the face of Stannis killed Renly. I am not arguing against that or denying that. However, this does not mean Melisandre birthed the shadow that killed Renly.
Melisandre kinda tells on herself in the next book.

"No." Perhaps he should have lied, and told her what she wanted to hear, but Davos was too accustomed to speaking truth. "You are the mother of darkness. I saw that under Storm's End, when you gave birth before my eyes."
"Is the brave Ser Onions so frightened of a passing shadow? Take heart, then. Shadows only live when given birth by light, and the king's fires burn so low I dare not draw off any more to make another son. It might well kill him." Melisandre moved closer. "With another man, though . . . a man whose flames still burn hot and high . . . if you truly wish to serve your king's cause, come to my chamber one night. I could give you pleasure such as you have never known, and with your life-fire I could make . . ."
". . . a horror." Davos retreated from her. "I want no part of you, my lady. Or your god. May the Seven protect me."

Melisandre drew of enough light to make at least one son from Stannis likely the one that killed Renly. She claims she can make more with another man, but if that is the case, why aren't there an army of them? There is no lack of men who would want to bed Melisandre either for pleasure or to serve the Red God. Why are there not more shadows? I think it is because she is not the one with the power; it's Stannis ( We will get to that part of the theory in a bit).
I know. You are like "What?! Obviously she did. She is a shadow binder from the West and we see her giving birth. We can put two and two together. We don't need to see it."
I am not suggesting any of you lack the ability to put two and two together. That would be rude and insulting and I am not fond of such discourse. I will however suggest that maybe what you think are two and two aren't two and two because even if the Renly tent shadow is a two, when you do a side-by-side with the Strom's end shadow... well that thing is too different to be a two.
The Renly tent shadow:

• is of normal size;
• opens a tent door;
• brings a feeling of cold;
• tears open steel;
• kills on site;
• looks like Stannis;
• seems to have a telepathic bond with Stannis; and
• We have no direct knowledge of where this thing came from.

The Storm's End shadow:

• Is notably larger;
• Slithers around gates;
• Gives Davos no feeling of cold;
• Isn't observed making any impact on the environment;
• Does not kill with a stab on site;
• Is directly summon by a glamor caster with a shock of blinding light after she reached into her robes where she tells us she keep special powders that make things appear greater than they are; and
• has the face of Stannis.

So yes, two plus two is four. But since that Renly tent shadow is way different from the Storm's End shadow, are we sure they are both twos? If the Storm's end event ain't a two, then our conclusion of four is flawed.
But if you think the shadow below Storm's end was real, just go and apply the basic glamor test that Maester Aemon gives us and find any physical evidence that the Storm's End shadow was there beyond the half blinded visuals of Davos. Why would George when writing the Storm's End event leave out all opportunities to demonstrate a single impact on the physical when he spent text space making that an issue with Lightbringer, Mance and the Renly event? Was it an oversight or a clue?

So what killed Penrose?

Penrose was tossed over the walls of Storm's End. I am not denying that. I also will not argue that he felt despair and decided to kill himself. He seems pretty confident when he meets with Stannis.

"As the gods will it. Bring on your storm, my lord—and recall, if you do, the name of this castle." Ser Cortnay gave a pull on his reins and rode back toward the gate. Davos II, ACOK.

Ser Cortnay does not sound all that worried about the Castle being stormed or a long siege. That castle can't be breached by an army of any size. And if the granaries are full which they should be after such a long and bountiful summer, he could hold up inside for years. So what killed him in one night if not the shadow assassin Davos saw?
My theory is a mutiny by someone already inside. And why a mutiny?
"I give you fair warning. If you force me to take my castle by storm, you may expect no mercy. I will hang you for traitors, every one of you." -The Mannis.
Because it is Stannis outside the gates. And he is the man stubborn enough to sit there a decade if he needed to. And the moment the last starving man gives in, he'd take the castle and hang that last man. Everyone knows this about Stannis. Moreover, with Renly and Robert dead, Storm's End passes to him anyway. Robert gave it to Renly and Renly had no heir. Robert is dead. Stannis is the last living Baratheon so it is his by law. All it would take was one or two men inside the castle who decided they were not about to die for the whims of a castellan who wanted to withhold the castle from the rightful lord. Men generally don't want to die for no good purpose isn't that right Dagon Cod?

He is drunk, Reek realized. The ale is speaking. "Believe what you want. I have brought Lord Ramsay's message. Now I must return to him. We'll sup on wild boar and neeps, washed down with strong red wine. Those who come with me will be welcome at the feast. The rest of you will die within a day. The Lord of the Dreadfort will bring his knights up the causeway, whilst his son leads his own men down on you from the north. No quarter will be granted. The ones that die fighting will be the lucky ones. Those who live will be given to the bog devils."
"Enough," snarled Dagon Codd. "You think you can frighten ironborn with words? Begone. Run back to your master before I open your belly, pull your entrails out, and make you eat them."
He might have said more, but suddenly his eyes gaped wide. A throwing axe sprouted from the center of his forehead with a solid thunk. Codd's sword fell from his fingers. He jerked like a fish on a hook, then crashed face-first onto the table.
It was the one-armed man who'd flung the axe. As he rose to his feet he had another in his hand. "Who else wants to die?" he asked the other drinkers. "Speak up, I'll see you do." Thin red streams were spreading out across the stone from the pool of blood where Dagon Codd's head had come to rest. "Me, I mean to live, and that don't mean staying here to rot." Reek II, ADWD.

All it takes is one man who isn't willing to die and someone else can take charge and open the gates.

"Then hear me. Ser Cortnay's lieutenant is cousin to the Fossoways. Lord Meadows, a green boy of twenty. Should some ill chance strike down Penrose, command of Storm's End would pass to this stripling, and his cousins believe he would accept my terms and yield up the castle." Davos II, ACOK.

Garrison duty is usually left to green boys who lack the experience to go to war or grey beards who are long in service. The green boys do not want to die and the old men have served too long to know anything but obedience. Either could have turned on Penrose. That makes more sense than a shadow that finds Penrose in the huge castle then pushes Penrose over the walls rather than just stabbing him like the Renly shadow did. Why would the shadow throw him off the walls? There is no reason for Penrose to go up there. So the shadow would have to drag him up there. Nobody saw this or heard this? Anyway the point here is, there remains no evidence the shadow at Storm's End did anything.
If Mel can see the future as she claims, she may have seen the mutiny in her fires and simply positioned herself to take credit for something she had nothing to do with.

Why would Mel bother with such a ruse?

Since Melisandre was introduced in ACOK, only two people who Stannis respects and trusts have spoken against her. Cressen and Davos. Cressen is dead which leave Davos as the last person who could speak against her. Mel knows this.

Davos had come too far with Stannis to play coy now. "Last year they were Robert's men. A moon ago they were Renly's. This morning they are yours. Whose will they be on the morrow?"
And Stannis laughed. A sudden gust, rough and full of scorn. "I told you, Melisandre," he said to the red woman, "my Onion Knight tells me the truth."
"I see you know him well, Your Grace," the red woman said. Davos II, ACOK.

I theorize Mel wanted to get Davos alone to try and convince him or her power because if he was on her side, she would have less opposition. This could not be as simple as summoning Davos to her tent to witness the birth. For one, Davos would refuse anyone but Stannis.

The king gave a curt nod. "You will need a small boat. Not Black Betha. No one must know what you do."
Davos wanted to protest. He was a knight now, no longer a smuggler, and he had never been an assassin. Yet when he opened his mouth, the words would not come. This was Stannis, his just lord, to whom he owed all he was. And he had his sons to consider as well. Gods be good, what has she done to him? Id.

Also of note is Stannis saying no one must know. Stannis also tells Davos that Melisandre has already seen Penrose's death. She likely also told him what she needed to ensure this. She requested Davos and to be alone with him. The best way to do this was to get him involved in something only he could do. The Lightbringer show worked on the others, but Davos required something more intimate. So she got him alone and showed him a form he knows well and respects: a woman great with child. Davos has seven sons by his wife. He knows the power of the form of an expecting mother.

"Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less."

Davos believes in the power of seas, ships, sons and Stannis. All four of the pillars of his beliefs are exploited by Melisandre here. Speaking of exploiting the audience.

George set this up brilliantly

I think George enjoys tricking his readers. He often uses very careful and cryptic language when discussing plot elements, which is why I generally steer well clear of SSM. He does the same with his writing though. Here is how the set up for us to reach a bad conclusions works (I theorize).
George first introduces us to the idea of shadows assassins with the event in Renly's tent. We only see the shadow and the impact it has. We don't how it came to be and we are hungry for an answer. A few POV's later we are given an option for the solution. And in our understandable desire to have an answer, we take the first option without questioning it's validity. And in doing so, we do not consider other possibilities. The first offered answer might not be the correct one.

Narrative purpose

One of the things I learned from mu Quentyn discussions is when confronted with a challenge to the accustomed interpretation of the story, readers want to know what the narrative purpose of the challenge is. It is a fine and fair inquiry. I generally don't like to get into it because narrative purpose is a weathervane and each reader provides their own wind. Everyone approaches this story in a unique way and this is a wonderful thing. If we all had the same view, what would be the point of this subreddit and it's 800k members? So, I am not going to get into the subjective nature of what each of thinks is the correct narrative purpose. However, I think there are some objective elements we can discuss.
George put glamors in the story as a purposeful choice. He took the time to tell us about glamors, how to spot them, he has revealed some to us and left some for us to puzzle out on our own. George is writing a narrative full of misdirection and apparent contradictions. I think we should look out for them.
George has made Davos' guilt over his involvement in this an important plot point in the Davos POV.

She laughed. "Is it me you fear? Or what we do?"
"What you do. I'll have no part of it."
"Your hand raised the sail. Your hand holds the tiller." Davos II, ACOK.

And...

Silent, Davos tended to his course. The shore was a snarl of rocks, so he was taking them well out across the bay. He would wait for the tide to turn before coming about. Storm's End dwindled behind them, but the red woman seemed unconcerned. "Are you a good man, Davos Seaworth?" she asked.
Would a good man be doing this? "I am a man," he said. "I am kind to my wife, but I have known other women. I have tried to be a father to my sons, to help make them a place in this world. Aye, I've broken laws, but I never felt evil until tonight. I would say my parts are mixed, m'lady. Good and bad." Id.

And George touches on this guilt again in ASOS.

Perhaps it was only wind blowing against the rock, or the sound of the sea on the shore, but for an instant Davos Seaworth heard her answer. "You called the fire," she whispered, her voice as faint as the sound of waves in a seashell, sad and soft. "You burned us . . . burned us . . . burrrrned usssssss."
"It was her!" Davos cried. "Mother, don't forsake us. It was her who burned you, the red woman, Melisandre, her!" He could see her; the heart-shaped face, the red eyes, the long coppery hair, her red gowns moving like flames as she walked, a swirl of silk and satin. She had come from Asshai in the east, she had come to Dragonstone and won Selsye and her queen's men for her alien god, and then the king, Stannis Baratheon himself. He had gone so far as to put the fiery heart on his banners, the fiery heart of R'hllor, Lord of Light and God of Flame and Shadow. At Melisandre's urging, he had dragged the Seven from their sept at Dragonstone and burned them before the castle gates, and later he had burned the godswood at Storm's End as well, even the heart tree, a huge white weirwood with a solemn face. Davos I, ASOS.

I found Davos I, ASOS one of the most powerful chapters he's written. Does this section of ASOS work unless Davos is struggling with his guilt and feeling complicit in all the death that has taken place? So even if you fine redditor do not see the sense in having Davos row Melisandre under Storm's End, George wanted him there and wanted him feeling guilt and conflict over it. And George used that conflict later.
Another narrative purpose for the Storm's End event being a glamor is that is could serve as a distraction from another plot George is not ready to reveal, such as Stannis having special abilities like we see in the Starks, Targaryens, and other wargs. Mel claims there is power in king's blood. Stannis does have king's blood. And Stannis is a distant relation to the Targaryens who also have special abilities related to there genetics. Some of that ability may be within Stannis and all Melisandre did was help unlock it while he slept.
A person with latent powers they are unable to unlock consciously is something George has written about in his other works. George borrows heavily from his other works elsewhere in ASOIAF. One more thing, George's favorite science fiction film is Forbidden Planet. In this movie, one of the characters is able to summon telekinetic a manifestation of his id while he sleeps to kill his rivals. It may be that George had Stannis do exactly that.
In Conclusion
Even if you conclude the Storm's End event was not a glamor (it is fine if you do. I might be wrong), I think it is wise to at least question the event because if it was a glamor below Storm's end, then this opens a number of new possibilities for the story. I think this story is deserving of applying the lesson at Syrio Forel offered.
"Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true. Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose. Feel with your skin. Then comes the thinking, afterward, and in that way knowing the truth." Arya V, AGOT.
When we apply senses other than the visual to the event below Storm's End and then really think about it from the perspective of touch, sound and smell, are we still sure that our eyes alone told us the truth?
But what say ye fine Redditors? Is the event below Storm's End worthy of closer inspection? Is the choice by George to exclude any physical evidence of the shadow a clue to this being a glamor from a known glamor caster? As always, polite disagreement and constructive feedback are always welcome.
TL;DR: The commonly accepted position on the event below Storm's End in Davos II, ACOK may be incorrect. There are a number of inconsistencies between the shadow that killed Renly and the one that Davos sees below Storm's End. These inconsistencies should not be dismissed. It is highly possible that the event below Storm's End was a glamor cast by a known glamor caster.

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